sm57 on a snare

  • Thread starter Thread starter ez_willis
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Joey Jordison got kicked out of MIT and NASA! :D

It's all about experimientation. :cool:

I once modified a snare resonance head by cutting out the sections on either side of the strands. I took my time and made perfect radius cuts, rather than just hack them out straight.

I miced my "open bottom" snare with a 57 up inside about 1/2" from the batter head, and another 57 aimed at a 45 on top.

The results? Well hell, it sounded terrible, but now I know! :D
 
mixsit said:
First was about what kind of tone you were going for, but more wondering why, if it didn't vary. A perfectly reasonable answer there, thank you. :)
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Ah. OK....I had trouble following the wording of this...and there's no "1)"...so I was confused.
mixsit said:
Two questions; That's going for the rather 'big, thick dry side of things?
2) As in kinda sorta always or something? That I don't get. (You're that settled in? same genre, or I'm reading too much into it..?
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But yeah, I can't say I'm going for "thick/dry". It's just where my mics pick up my snare the best, in relation to my overheads, etc....

I would experiment more, for sure, if I was recording other people and other kits.
 
My associate in our studio (Ben Rogers of Loud Sun Studio) unscrewed one of our 57s in the middle placed it at about a 45 degree angle then gaff taped it in that position.
To me it's hogging all the ugly but seems to work well.
You can still get it in the clip and it takes up less room in that spot on the drums than a "straight" 57 would to mic the top of the snare.Which on a full set up of the kit with some drummers will leave no room to speak of to sneak a mic and a stand in there.
With the 57 in that bent position the cord end is way down now and never gets in the way of the high hats which again is always a problem.
 
There's a thread on GS that I love about this.
Get a KM84, tape it to an SM57 so that the drummer, if he does, will hit the SM57 instead of the KM84, and then don't plug in the SM57.
 
ez_willis said:
look at the website, dude. they have 5 diferent mics on the snare, kick, and OH's, and have audio clips of each so you can hear the difference between each microphone.
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That seems...misleading. Unless the mics are all in the exact same spot, any sound difference is just as likely to come from the different mic locations as it is the different mic types. Obviously, they can't all be in the same place at the same time so why have all 5 up at once?
 
I did a quick little sound testing session last night and did something similar with an sm57. First I tried the more traditional set-up with it pointed more straight down at the center of the skin, and then a second try with just the head of the mic over the rim at a much flatter angle. And for I needed it for yesterday, the flatter angle seemed to sound a little better.
There is no wrong placement for a mic if it gives you the sound you want!
 
But to be honest, based on the picture alone, I don't see even one of the 5 mics that is likely in an optimal position. Instead of using all 5, try maximize the output of one of them. Start with the sm57, it will give you a good baseline for comparison for the rest. With a medium-large diaphragm condenser though, try get the face of the mic pointed at the side of the shell about an inch or so away, then lift the boom so that the mic is just poking above the rim of the snare, and then angle the face of the mic toward the center of the snare.
 
Oh OH make mine a chocolate donut with chocolate frosting with chocolate Jimmie sprinkles!
 
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